Rafael Verduzco

Research Interests:

• Photovoltaics
• Polymeric Materials
• Nanomaterials
• Surface Modification

Education:

• B.S. (2001) Rice University
• M.S. (2003) California Institute of Technology
• Ph.D. (2007) California Institute of Technology
• Postdoctoral Associate (2007-2009) Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A grand challenge in engineering is to meet the growing demand for energy with alternative and sustainable fuels. Solar energy can potentially satisfy all of our energy needs in an environmentally friendly way, but current inorganic Si and CdTe solar cells are too expensive to compete with fossil fuel-based energy sources. Trends over the past thirty years show that these technologies will not produce solar electricity cheaply enough until at least 2030, while the global energy demand will double by 2050. Achieving cost-competitive technologies sooner to meet this growing demand requires revolutionary new ideas, novel materials, and a better understanding of energy and charge transfer processes in photovoltaics. Organic materials such as conjugated block copolymers, carbon nanotubes, and graphene offer the promise of inexpensive, easily processible electronic systems which could address this grand challenge. In addition to research into organic photovoltaic systems, our group is interested in a wide range of problems that can be solved using polymeric materials, including the use of liquid crystal polymers for flexoelectric materials, using polymers to prevent biofouling in ultrafiltration membranes, and the use of polymers for enhanced oil recovery.

CHEMICAL & BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING DEPT. MS-362
Rice University PO Box 1892 Houston, Texas 77251-1892	E-mail: chbe@rice.edu	Phone: (713) 348-4902 FAX:(713) 348-5478